There Is vs There Are: Agreement, Lists, and There’s

Quick Answer

Use there is before one countable thing or an uncountable noun: There is a delay; There is new information.

Use there are before a plural noun: There are two delays. In the past, the same number contrast is there was versus there were.

🔑 Key Takeaway

Do not let the dummy word there decide the verb. Identify the noun phrase being introduced, check its number or countability, and then choose the form.

First Separate Existential There from Location There

In There are two cafés nearby, there is a dummy subject: the construction introduces the existence or presence of two cafés. The word nearby supplies the location. In Put the chairs there, by contrast, there itself points to a place.

Cambridge calls two cafés the real subject in this analysis. That label explains why number matters, but the practical edit is simpler: find the noun phrase introduced after the verb.

Introduced noun phrase	Present form	Negative or question	Past form
one countable item: a vacancy	There is a vacancy.	There isn’t a vacancy. / Is there a vacancy?	There was a vacancy.
uncountable: information	There is new information.	There isn’t any information. / Is there any information?	There was new information.
plural: three vacancies	There are three vacancies.	There aren’t any vacancies. / Are there any vacancies?	There were three vacancies.

Uncountable nouns do not become plural merely because they describe a large amount. Cambridge lists advice, information, homework, and traffic as uncountable, so write There is advice available and There is heavy traffic.

Four Repairs with Different Causes

Repair a plural agreement mismatch

Before:

There is several reasons to reconsider the plan.

After:

There are several reasons to reconsider the plan.

Reasons is plural, so the present form is there are. This exact contrast is also the checker test below.

Classify the noun before changing the verb

Before:

There are new information in the incident log.

After:

There is new information in the incident log.

Information is uncountable in English. Quantity does not make the noun grammatically plural.

Match a plural noun in formal prose

Informal form:

There’s three issues blocking the release.

Formal revision:

There are three issues blocking the release.

Cambridge records plural there’s in speech and some informal writing. It does not call the form impossible; it warns that the form could be considered incorrect in formal writing or an examination.

Do not confuse a dummy subject with a place adverb

Wrong analysis:

In “There are two files there,” the first there gives the location.

Accurate analysis:

The first there introduces the files; the second there points to their location.

The two identical spellings have different jobs, so a place test prevents a misleading agreement explanation.

🎯 Test Your Knowledge

1. ____ a book on the table.

2. ____ several errors in this report.

3. ____ some sugar left in the jar.

4. (past) ____ ten people at the meeting.

5. (formal report) ____ three unresolved objections.

Live Check: An Agreement Error the Engine Missed

On July 16, 2026, Grammarlyzer returned no issues for the exact plural-agreement error below. The manual revision with there are also returned no issues.

Exact tested seed:

Manual agreement revision: There are several reasons to reconsider the plan.

The pair documents one false negative and one accepted repair. It does not establish checker behavior for other plural nouns, uncountable nouns, mixed lists, past forms, or informal plural there’s.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I choose there is or there are?

Use there is before a singular countable noun or an uncountable noun. Use there are before a plural noun. First identify what is being introduced, then check its number or countability.

Can there’s introduce a plural noun?

Cambridge records plural there’s in speech and some informal writing, but says it could be considered incorrect in formal writing or an examination. Use there are with a plural noun when register matters.

Which verb should I use before a mixed list?

British Council documents informal there is or there’s before a list beginning with a singular item. For formal prose, put a plural item first with there are or recast the sentence so the list follows a regular subject.

How do negatives, questions, and past forms work?

Use there isn’t and is there with singular or uncountable nouns, and there aren’t and are there with plural nouns. In the past, use there was for singular or uncountable nouns and there were for plural nouns.

Is existential there the same as location there?

No. In There are two cafés nearby, there is a dummy subject introducing existence; nearby gives the location. In Put the chairs there, there itself points to a place.

Mixed Lists Need a Register Decision

Do not turn “the first noun always controls the verb” into a universal rule. British Council specifically documents there is or there’s before a list in informal speech, with a singular first item. Cambridge separately documents plural there’s in speech and some informal writing.

Documented informal pattern:

There’s a café, a supermarket, and a bus stop on this street.

The list begins with one café; British Council documents this type of informal opener.

Plural-first formal option:

There are two shops and a café near the station.

Moving the plural item first makes the plural agreement immediate.

Recast without existential there:

A café and two shops are near the station.

A regular compound subject removes the delayed-agreement decision.

Uncountable plus plural recast:

New information and three attachments are in the case file.

Recasting avoids forcing one existential form across unlike list members.

The aim is not to erase informal speech. It is to choose a form whose register and agreement are clear for the document you are writing.

What the Direct Sources Support

Cambridge’s there is, there’s and there are guide covers existence and presence, singular there is/there’s, plural there are, and the informal plural use of there’s with its formal-writing caution.

British Council’s lesson covers singular, plural, negative, question, past, and future forms. It also documents informal there is/there’s before a list beginning with a singular item.

Cambridge’s dummy-subject guide distinguishes existential there and calls the following noun phrase the real subject. Its countability guide lists advice, information, homework, and traffic as uncountable nouns.

These sources do not support the removed promise that the checker catches this agreement error, a universal first-item rule for every list and register, or unsourced claims about how frequently writers make the error.

A Four-Step There Is/Are Audit

Confirm the construction. Decide whether there introduces existence or points to a location.
Box the introduced noun phrase. Mark the first complete unit after the verb, not merely the closest word.
Classify number and countability. Choose singular, uncountable, or plural before selecting is/was or are/were.
Check register and list shape. Preserve a documented informal list opener when appropriate; otherwise reorder or recast mixed lists for clear formal agreement.

What This Page Adds to the Agreement Cluster

The subject-verb agreement guide covers agreement across ordinary subjects, intervening phrases, compound structures, and special noun patterns. This page stays on the existential construction and its delayed noun phrase, register, and list decisions.

The countable and uncountable nouns guide classifies nouns and quantifiers in depth. Their, there, and they’re solves a spelling and homophone choice. Neither page provides this agreement matrix, mixed-list recasts, or exact checker limitation.

Check the Surface, Then Audit the Noun Phrase

Use the checker for sentence-level feedback, then apply the four-step audit whenever the agreement, countability, or register decision remains unresolved.

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